The US-backed governing authority in Iraq awarded three
mobile phone licences to companies based in the Middle East, all of
with networks based on European standards.
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), awarded licences to
carriers that intend to use GSM in their respective geographic
areas - northern, central (including Baghdad) and southern
Iraq.
Under Saddam Hussein, Iraqis were not allowed to use mobile
phones, said Haidar Jawad al-Abadi, the Iraqi minister of Transport
and Communications. Al-Abadi said awarding licences is a move into
a new age of telecommunications for the country.
"It's time Iraq caught up with the rest of the world after it
was isolated politically, economically and technically for very
long," al-Abadi said. "Until now, we were denied mobile phones.
Iraqis will welcome the chance to use mobile phones to talk to
their family, friends and for business purposes," he added.
Craig Ehrlich, chairman of the GSM Association said, "GSM will
help re-integrate Iraq internally, with its neighbours, the region
and the rest of the world."
Ian Volans, an association spokesman, said using the GSM
standard would make it easier to integrate the Iraqi mobile network
with those of surrounding countries, since "every Arab country uses
GSM".
Roger Entner, an analyst at the Yankee Group, estimated that the
winning bidders would need to invest a total of $100m (£60m) to
build networks that could provide "bare-bones" coverage of Iraq,
while a more comprehensive network could cost $1bn.
The CPA will also require the licensees to post performance
bonds of $30m (£18m) each.
Bob Brewin writes for Computerworld